


Aches of the Past

by Darklions3429



Category: Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Experimenting with POVs, F/M, God this game is good, Hurt/Comfort, My first childhood OTP, POV First Person, Please go play it if you can, i don't know how to tag, obscure fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23872693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darklions3429/pseuds/Darklions3429
Summary: A quest brings back old, forgotten emotions that Elh thought she had pushed away forever. It's up to Red to quash those emotions.
Relationships: Red Savarin/Elh Melizée
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Aches of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Heads up - This is all Post-game stuff. Minor spoilers from the beginning through the middle of the game, but nothing too heavy.

Sitting in the cockpit of the DAHAK-Mk. II, I watched the city of Basset go by, smelling of industry and steel. All around us were old, broken down warships that were repurposed where they fell into residencies, businesses, and even an orphanage, from which we just finished visiting. Red and I bobbed along as the DAHAK took us to our destination, the quest broker, Flo. As we approached her stall, I realized that we didn't know much about her. She obviously has a life outside of working as a quest broker, but we never see her outside of work. We took a personal quest from her a while ago, but that was really about it. Maybe it's because we're always working too, who knows. Anyway, once we arrived, Red began speaking.

"Heya, Flo! How ya doin'? We're getting started again after a quick vacation, having just saved the world and whatnot. We were just in the area, visiting the orphanage, so I figured we'd stop by! Got anything?"

"I'm good, Red, thanks for asking! It's good to see you guys again," Flo said, sifting through a small box of cards with the day's date on it. "Let's see… here's one that should be up your alley!" she said as she slid a card toward Red. "A guy came by about an hour ago and frantically handed me the quest."

I gently tugged on Red's arm so I could read the quest card as well. 

"Please help! Some cultists took my son for who-knows-what! Please meet me at my shop, and I'll give you more details! Please, Flo! Find someone quick!"

-Annen Piicee

Red turned the card over, and we saw that there was a location on the back of it, as well as a monetary reward of 4000 rings. "We'll take it," Red said, stashing the card on his front console.

"I didn't realize that there were cults here," I said to Red. "Or in general. I thought they were a thing of the past."

"Oh, believe me, they exist. Having been a hunter for as long as I have, I've seen some stuff. It's pretty wild and honestly kind of amazing how crazy some of these people are. Imagine Bruno, but worse."

"Sheesh," I said, trying to picture what we'd be dealing with. "I thought that the Kurvaz were all insane enough, I guess I'm wrong."

"You got that right," Red sighed, steering his mech away from the stall. Both of us bid farewell to Flo, and we made our way to the guy's shop as fast as we could. Upon arrival, we saw an older Caninu-Chihuahua, about 50, pacing nervously back and forth as he tinkered with a machine in his garage. He was wearing a beat-up and ratty mechanic's overalls that were riddled with tears and caked with oil stains to the point that we could barely tell that they were blue. The red shirt underneath wasn't faring too much better, and neither were his boots. The shop itself was in about the same condition as its owner's clothes, but that kind of applied to the rest of Basset.

"Heya! We're here to rescue your son!" Red called to the man. Looking over, the man was immediately flooded with relief when he saw us approach him in a nice-looking mech. "Oh, thank God, I was beginning to worry that no one was going to show up!" 

"No need to worry, we got you. Now, what's the lowdown on this whole cult?"

"Okay, okay. So, last night, I was sitting in my garage, when I heard this banging noise on my door. Scared out of my wits, I grabbed a gun and walked outside, but no one was there. But, when I got out there, I saw a note slapped onto the door. Said that they were gonna take my son for a ritual or whatever if I didn't leave them a ton of rings by the next morning. I didn't take it seriously, so I kinda just threw the note out. But the next morning, I heard my son yell, and I ran into his room only to find his window broken! I panicked and scribbled out a quest card and gave it to Flo about an hour and a half ago, and now we're here! Please hurry! I don't know what they're going to do to him, and he's the only family I have left after my wife passed!

"Don't worry sir, we'll get your son back. Did they leave any clue as to who they were?" I asked. 

"Lemme think… I think the bottom said, uh, 'The Deathly Knolls,' if I remember correctly. Yeah, that's what it said!"

Red thought for a second, and a sudden realization washed over his face. His snout twitched angrily, almost anxiously, if I didn't know the guy any better. 

"What's wrong, Red?" I asked with growing concern. "You usually don't get worked up like that."

"I've read about the Knolls before. They're pretty infamous on Basset and other places for their rituals and whatnot. They're holed up in a pretty dangerous place here on Basset, and that's why the authorities haven't dared approach them. Last I checked, their rituals involve sacrifice, so we'd better bust tail getting there."

At the word sacrifice, my heart sank right into the Plasma Sea and my stomach dropped even lower. Remembering back to what occurred on Samoyede, tidal waves of old, pushed down emotions washed over me. Sitting in between Red's legs in the cockpit, I looked up at him. I studied every part of his face. The bone that he always had in his mouth like it was a cigar, the x-shaped scar below his left eye on his snout, his scruffy red and white fur, everything. At the time, I didn't want to admit it, but I was in love with him, and I still am. After adventuring with him for a while, I slowly became more and more fond of him and I ended up falling in love with the dumb mutt. I tried to push those feelings aside and perform the rite, but Beluga came along and intervened as I was hesitating and stopped. Then, I was kidnapped. I was already overwhelmed with guilt, but after Red had rescued me right after I had just tried killing him, it made me feel even worse. I didn't deserve him, and after Red said something about sacrifices, it reminded me that I still don't deserve him and his infinite kindness toward me. I wanted to tell him that I loved him so badly, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. After all that had happened, I wasn't worthy of that, of him. My tail curled around out in front of me and I fidgeted with it anxiously as my ears twitched, not realizing that I had spaced out. 

"Elh? You okay? You're bein' kinda spacey right now."

Looking up, I did my best to feign cheerfulness. "Yeah, I'm fine! Just a little nervous about going into this place is all," I fake chuckled.

Red looked back at me apprehensively, raising an eyebrow. "Alright… Are ya sure you can do this? I can run back to the Asmodeus if you'd like."

"No, it's fine! Don't worry about me."

Red sighed and conceded. "Okay, if you're sure. Off we go!" 

We trekked through the scraps and heaps of metal that was Basset, all the while my sins were weighing upon me. I couldn't stop thinking about what I had done to the mutt I loved so much. I gained his trust, lied to him, and tried to kill him! And he still came and rescued me! I sank lower into the cockpit and felt even worse about myself, but my brooding was interrupted by Red's voice.

"Hang on tight! This ship could collapse at any second, and there are traps literally everywhere. Keep yer head down, unless you wanna lose those cute lil' ears of yours," Red warned as he ruffled the top of my head. I smiled and blushed a little as I ducked down and grabbed onto the handles. This wasn't a time to be sulking like this, I had to be helping Red! As we made it through, I kept my eyes sharp for any lurking dangers and warned Red as needed. Soon enough, we came onto a clearing inside of the ship that was slightly overgrown. Red's ears perked up and he gently signaled to be as quiet as possible. Red got off the DAHAK and equipped its feet with rubber pads.

Getting back in, he threw the DAHAK into stealth mode, which slowed us down considerably, but we would make very little noise, if any at all. Sneaking forward through the door, we saw about eight people in robes, both Caninu, who were in mechs, and Felineko. There was a boy, about twelve, tied up and bound to an altar in the center of them. The Felineko in the circle were staggered forward of the Caninu and were chanting. Slowly but surely, a circle of light appeared around the boy and began to glow brighter as the Felineko continued chanting. I saw this and I felt my stomach drop once more. The incantation circle looked almost identical to the incantation circle for the Rite of Forfeit. My brain went into a shutdown sequence and I began staring into space. 

"Shoot, looks like they've already started the ritual! I gotta get in there fast! Ready, Elh?" Red looked down at my despondent self. "Elh. Elh!" Shaking my head, I looked back. "Y-yeah! Let's go!" Red looked forward, determined, and we charged in, taking the first Caninu by surprise from behind. Red whipped us around in a circle and threw the first guy into the Caninu off to our left. At the sudden interruption, the Felineko hesitated in their chanting, the ring now wavering. The remaining Caninu urged the cats to keep chanting, and they resumed, the brightness of the circle filling up once more. The rest of the fight was a blur. I was far gone by then, too absorbed in my own thoughts and guilt. The previous statement I made to myself about helping Red had been washed away. I didn't even remember returning to the main part of Basset. All I remember was returning to the Asmodeus and going to my room. On my bed, I curled up into a ball and felt the weight of my own emotions and sins on my back, and began to quietly cry, for myself and for Red.

* * *

After I had returned the kid to his dad and took us back home, I docked the DAHAK and began doing some minor repairs. My mech had taken a small beating during the fight, considering that we were fighting against four freakin' people at once. Probably not a great idea on my end, but hey, it worked out, right? Elh said that she was tired and wanted some sleep, so I bid her goodnight, even though it was four in the afternoon, and she went about her way. Upon finishing the repairs, I showered and sprawled out in our living room, feeling my back decompress as I relaxed upon the couch. 

"Ahh, that's the stuff. What a wild day today," I said, mostly to myself. Just then, Chocolat appeared out of the hallway and sat down across from me with some steaming tea.

"You looked like you need this. How was Basset?"

I picked up the tea and blew on it. I took a sip and felt the warm liquid course throughout my body, rubbing away any soreness from today. I thanked the Caninu-pomeranian as I told her what had happened today. As I finished, Chocolat pursed her lips and put her hand to her chin in thought. "That's pretty insane, a cult? You don't see that every day," she said. "Come to think of it, Elh looked pretty bothered coming back from that. You could do well to check on her." So, my hunch was correct, there WAS something wrong. 

"Yeah, I thought so too, although I kinda just took her excuse at face value. I'll check up on her," I said, standing up, leaving my sister to finish her tea.

"Just tread lightly," she warned. "I know how you are with words sometimes!" Chocolat teased.

"Oh shut up," I retorted as I left, hearing her giggle disappear behind me as I made my way to Elh's room. Before I entered, I heard a quiet and muffled squeak followed by sobbing. 

Is she… crying? What'd I do this time?

Taking a breath, I quietly knocked on the door. "Hey, Elh, it's me."

"...go away," Elh whimpered.

Damn, it really was me. What the hell did I do? __ I opened the door slightly so that my voice could carry through. "Hey, I just wanna talk. We're a team, remember? We gotta take care of each other."

The only response I got was a sniffle, and I took that as my cue to enter. Gently pushing the door open, I entered her room and I saw her in the corner nearest to the wall of her bed, curled up and crying. I sat down on the edge of the bed near her and rubbed her back in circles. "Hey, come here," I said with as much caring in my voice as I could muster. A sniffle. I patted her back and said it once more. "Hey, it's okay. Come here, Elh, and we can talk it out." She exhaled and reluctantly crawled over to where I was sitting. I turned toward her, and she buried her face in my chest, sobbing louder than before. The tiny Felineko shuddered with every breath she took in and wailed with every exhale that came out. I'm not typically very emotionally intelligent; I'm as clueless as a pirate with two eyepatches. But sitting here and letting this girl cry into me, I could feel a lot of weight behind each tear that rolled down her cheek. After a few minutes of this, her crying became quieter, and the sobs farther apart. 

"Are you ready to talk?"

She nodded into my chest, pulling herself away from me. She took a shaky breath and wiped her eyes and nose with her hand. 

"I… I don't deserve you," she began. Right out of the gate, she already sideswiped me with a battering ram. How do I respond to that? I kept silent, waiting for her to continue.

"Do you remember what happened at Samoyede?" the gray shorthair asked.

"Yeah," I said, remembering the rite and Lares.

"And you remember how I was supposed to sacrifice you for the rite, right?"

I nodded, stroking her head. 

"After all of that… after you put your trust in me, after traveling with me everywhere, I lied to you the whole way! I broke every level of trust imaginable and tried to kill you! But… you still came back for me… you stuck with me all this way after all that I did to you… Why, Red? Why? Why did you keep me around after I lied to you and almost took you away from your sister? I've been keeping these feelings to myself for the longest time and I thought I'd forgotten about them, but after today, with the cult and all, it just..." At the end of her ramble, she trailed off and put her forehead against my chest. I finally put the puzzle together. The sacrifices of that cult we took out today reminded her of everything, and now she feels awful again. I began stroking her head as I considered my words.

"Elh… I came back for you because I care about you. You became a member of our team, and I wouldn't change that for the world. You've proven yourself worthy of coming with Chocolat and me on this journey, and I wanted to make sure that you could keep doing that with us. I don't care that I was part of that sacrificial ritual. All I cared about, and still care about is that you were okay." 

Elh was silent as she took my words to heart. "...idiot." 

"What? What did I do?"

"I don't know if you remember, but I stopped partway through the ritual. Do you know why?"

"No. Tell me," I said gently into the top of her head.

"Earlier that day, an old woman told me to be true to my feelings. I… I was thinking about that the entire time I was casting it, and I had to stop because of that."

"Feelings? Wha…" I began.

"I love you, idiot! I've loved your stupid butt for a while now, and that's why I couldn't go through with the ritual! I've wanted to tell you that for so long, but I felt that I wasn't worthy of that or you…"

I was taken aback. I didn't know how to react at all. I haven't dealt with women very much in my life other than those at the orphanage and Chocolat, so this was completely new to me. Reflecting backward, I asked myself at that moment, "what do I really feel about her?" Was this what all this time spent adventuring together was leading up to? I thought about all that we've been through and all of the little moments that we've had together. I thought about what she really meant to me and as I gazed down upon the Felineko in my arms, I knew exactly how to respond at that moment.

"I love you too, Elh. I don't know how it took me this long to realize it, but I love you, I always have. You're always going to be worthy of me, although I don't know why you'd pick a guy like me. You deserve the universe, Elh, after everything that you've seen and been through. You're going to be okay, alright? That's all in the past. What matters is what's here and now."

Elh sniffled and clung onto me even tighter, and I returned the embrace. There wasn't anything I wanted more at this moment than to shield this quivering kitten from her inner demons. "You mean the world to me, and there's nothing I wouldn't do to protect you." As I said these words to her, I felt my heart race, hoping that I had done good and said the right thing. She drew herself away from me and looked at me in the eyes. Suddenly, she pushed me over and I was lying flat on my back on her bed. Then, she unceremoniously threw herself on top of me and began giggling with delight. Elh snaked her arms under my neck and she buried her face in the crook of my neck. I could hear her muffled voice as she spoke one more time. 

"Just shut up and hold me."

Laughing, I wrapped my arms around her back as I became more aware of the comforting weight of her body on top of mine. She sighed, satisfied that I had done what she'd asked. I closed my eyes, basking in her presence, and I knew that everything was going to be okay. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a pretty obscure fandom, but it's whatever - I've wanted to write for these two for a PHAT minute, but I haven't had the inspiration to really do it. Why it exists now is because the creator of this game said that a remake for the switch isn't completely off the table! And he said that really recently, too! So, I took my newfound inspiration and I wrote something for this. If you read this, thank you! If you haven't played this game, however, I highly recommend it! Get a DS emulator or something on your PC and download a ROM. It's got a killer story, a killer soundtrack, and adorable character designs. I can't speak enough love about this game, y'all. I got it during my childhood and it's been my all-time favourite game since then. 
> 
> Anyway! There's another fic coming here for a different fandom, then it's right back to Nighthawk!...provided that I don't suck myself into another fandom along the way. See you guys next time!


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